Roasted Vegetables

(Sorry no photo)

Cut up into bite size pieces any veggies you want.  My favorite combination is
1 medium Zucchini
1 medium yellow squash
1 onion
1 or 2 bell peppers (if the peppers are the huge green ones, one is plenty - I really like 2 of the aurora bites plus that makes it more colorful - these are orange, yellow or red)
8 oz mushrooms
Preheat oven to 450 (can be done at other temps if you are doing other baking)
Place all in a large mixing bowl and pour about 2 Tbsp olive oil over.
Add (adjust the quantities for your individual tastes)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
Toss to coat well.
Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking oil.  Spread veggies in a single layer.
Bake for 10 -15 minutes until tender.

Cherry Salad

This is a recipe that my mom got from one of her best friends.  It was a big favorite of our family - especially one of my brothers who loves cherries.  This is a good way to use up bananas if you wind  up with more than you can eat.

Cherry Salad
1 can red tart cherries (this is NOT cherry pie filling), drained
1 or 2 sliced bananas
You can also add coconut or mini marshmallows. Mom usually added the coconut but I don't keep it on hand.

1 cup milk
1 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup sugar

Mix the milk, sugar and flour in a large saucepan.  Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.   When it reaches boiling it will get thick and creamy.  Allow to cool.

 
Drain the cherries and place in a large mixing bowl.  Slice the banana(s) in with the cherries. Pour the cooled milk mixture over and stir well.  Refrigerate for several hours.

The tart cherries and the sweet banana slices in the creamy sauce is so good.  You will want to like the bowl clean!

Pizza crust - two recipes

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust -

original recipe found here

1 1/3 cup water

2 Tbsp olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp yeast



 Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions and process on dough cycle.   Check after 5 minutes  - add a little water or flour if needed. 

When cycle completes, remove from bread machine and punch down.  Preheat oven to 400 F while shaping the pizza crusts.
The recipe makes 10 personal size pizza crusts or 3 12 inch circle crusts.  I sometimes make one large baking sheet (Pampered Chef) and 6 personal pizza crusts.  I always bake my crusts for about 10 minutes before adding toppings or freezing for later use.

To make personal pizza crusts -
Divide into 10 equal balls. (I weigh out 4 ounces of dough for each crust)
Rub a little olive oil over the bottom and sides of a 10 inch pie plate.
Spread one of the balls into a circle.  I do this directly on my clean countertop using a small rolling pin and rotating the crust.
Place in the prepared pie plate adjusting the crust if needed.
Pierce the dough with a fork numerous times.  This keeps the dough from bubbling up while baking.
Bake 10 minutes- just starts to brown but not cooked completely.
Add toppings and bake for 10 more minutes.

If you want you can cool after the first 10 minutes and freeze.  Wrap each crust in wax paper and place them in a gallon zipper bag. 
To use frozen crusts you can add toppings and bake from the frozen state, or you can warm up in the oven a few minutes before adding the toppings.

 One of my favorite combinations - homemade pasta sauce,  mushrooms, beef roast luncheon meat, green olives and mozzarella cheese.

Basic Pizza Crust
original recipe found here

1 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups flour
2 tsp yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer's instructions and process on dough cycle. Check after 5 minutes - add a little water or flour if needed.

When cycle completes, remove from bread machine and punch down. Preheat oven to 400 F while shaping the pizza crusts.
The recipe makes 8 personal size pizza crusts.

To make personal pizza crusts -
Divide into 8 equal balls. (I weigh out 4 ounces of dough for each crust)
Rub a little olive oil over the bottom and sides of a 10 inch pie plate.
Spread one of the balls into a circle. I do this directly on my clean countertop using a small rolling pin and rotating the crust.
Place in the prepared pie plate adjusting the crust if needed.
Pierce the dough with a fork numerous times. This keeps the dough from bubbling up while baking.
Bake 10 minutes- just starts to brown but not cooked completely.
Add toppings and bake for 10 more minutes.

If you want you can cool after the first 10 minutes and freeze. Wrap each crust in wax paper and place them in a gallon zipper bag.
To use frozen crusts you can add toppings and bake from the frozen state, or you can warm up in the oven a few minutes before adding the toppings.

Salmon Patties with Avocado Tomato Salsa

(Sorry no photos)

Salmon Patties with Tomato Avocado Salsa

1 can salmon, drain, flake and break up bones
2 Tbsp onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 egg beaten
3 to 4 Tbsp dry bread crumbs (I used more)
Olive Oil

Mix together all except the olive oil. Heat oil in a large skillet. Shape salmon mixture into 4 patties. Cook in the oil until browned on both sides.


Salsa

1 cup diced tomatoes
1 or 2 avocados, diced (I actually used 1 1/2)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Mix all together. Serve over the salmon patties

Homemade Pasta Sauce and Easy Foccacia Bread

Homemade Pasta Sauce - crockpot

4 medium tomatoes, diced (I had about 25 ounces total when I weighed them)
1/2 cup diced onion
2 gloves garlic, minced
1 6-oz can tomato paste
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 can sliced mushrooms (or 8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms)
1 large bay leaf
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
2 beef bouillon cubes
salt and pepper to taste




Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and stir. Cook on low until tomatoes break down and flavors are blended (about 6 hours on Low). Remove bay leaf before serving.




I made mine the night before and refrigerated, then warmed it up on the stovetop. Serve over hot pasta of your choice. I served it over some Porcini Mushroom Tortellini.


Easy Foccacia Bread

1 package crescent rolls (or the crescent baking sheets)
olive oil
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Parmesan cheese

If using crescent rolls, do not separate but press seams together when spreading out in the baking sheet.
Place crescent sheet/rolls on a baking sheet and roll out to cover surface.
Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle on Italian seasoning, garlic powder and Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove bread from pan and let cool on cooling rack until ready to serve. Cut into squares.

Orange Crusted Salmon with Mango Salsa

This is adapted from a Weight Watchers online recipe. Prepare the salsa at least an hour before cooking the salmon.

Orange Crusted Salmon

1 pound frozen salmon fillets, thawed and drained
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat broiler. I line the broiler pan with aluminum foil to make clean up super easy!
Mix together the sugar, salt, orange zest and pepper. Arrange salmon on broiler pan and rub the sugar mixture over the top of the fillets. Use all of the sugar - it will start to melt into the salmon. (You can rub the sugar on the salmon and refrigerate up to 8 hours before broiling)
Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 6 minutes per inch thickness. Salmon should be flaky.

Mango Salsa

1 medium mango, peeled and diced
2 tbsp red onion, diced
1 small jalapeno pepper, minced
1/4 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
juice of an orange (use for zest for the salmon)
juice of a lime
Cilantro - if desired (DD2 does not care for cilantro so I omitted it and still tastes good)

Mix all together and chill at least an hour before serving.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa
This is a variation of a recipe from Weight Watchers online



2 mangos, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (use gloves)
3 Tbsp diced red onion
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
juice of one orange (about 1/4 cup)
juice of 1/2 lime (about 1 Tbsp)

Stir all together and chill at least one hour.